


Five Time Sirius Black Gave Amazingly Excellent Christmas Gifts and One Time He Gave the Perfect One

by moonlightxprincess13



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 5+1 Things, Christmas, Fluff, M/M, Marauders' Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-24
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-03-03 03:57:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2837222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlightxprincess13/pseuds/moonlightxprincess13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sirius Black gives excellent Christmas gifts. This is a thing he prides himself on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Time Sirius Black Gave Amazingly Excellent Christmas Gifts and One Time He Gave the Perfect One

**Author's Note:**

> Oh wow hello there friends this is my first fic outside of my normal fandom. So I'm not sure what happened, but I decided this is a thing that needed to happen, so I present to you for consideration my first-ever Sirius/Remus fic. Things may be a little wonky, so feel free to point it out. Super duper huge thanks to Wolfie for beta'ing and ja
> 
> That being said, Happy Christmas everyone!

The snow was starting to fall at a heavier pace as Sirius turned to look out the window of the common room. Shivering just a little, he tugged the sleeves of his sweater down over his hands, looking back down at his diary. A loud bang, followed by a few crashes, drew his attention as James and Peter clambered through the portrait hole. “Oi, Padfoot, you coming or not?” James had rushed past him, shouting as he climbed the stairs to the dormitory. 

“Time to go already?” He glanced around the room for a clock. His eyes grew wide as he lept up, chasing James up the stairs, leaving his diary to fall to the floor. Peter was the last one up, but the only one to narrowly avoid smacking into Remus. He did, however, hear the sound of James’ forehead colliding with Remus’ nose.

“Ow, what the hell?” Remus grabbed at his nose, squeezing his eyes in pain. He backed up, crashing into one of the bedframes and toppling over it. The weight of Sirius on James’ back sent him sprawling right on top of Remus. “Prongs!” Remus was squirming under him, and, much to Remus’ dismay, was not dislodging him. 

“Oh have some decency,” Sirius gasped, a smirk to his voice. “You may have a room here, but there are other people present, my friends! And whatever would the lovely Lily think?” He covered his eyes with his hands as he grabbed out into the air, eventually finding his cloak and throwing it on. He waited at the top of the stairs for the others, quietly laughing as James and Remus loudly disentangled themselves. The group rushed downstairs, jabbering excitedly about the last Hogsmeade trip of the year. They were met at the landing by a very severe looking Lily, bundled in what looked like one of James’ cloaks in addition to her own. 

“Why,” she asked, voice even, “are you making such a racket? You know, there are people trying to study in here.” She tried her best to look stern, doing a rather impressive McGonagall impression. It dissolved rather quickly, however, as James leaned down to press a kiss to her mouth. The others made retching noises in response, Sirius taking the lead.

“Alright children, keep it in your pants.” He took off towards the portrait hole without looking back. “Off we go,” he threw himself out into the castle, followed shortly thereafter by the others.

The snow was still coming down, though at a slightly less formidable pace, as the group made their way into the village. “Listen now, please,” Mcgonagall tried to gather their attention. “Children,” she made another attempt. “Potter, Black, I don’t know what you’re doing but knock it off.” The group finally quieted down.

“Professor,” James grabbed at his heart as he spoke, “why would you assume its us? I’m hurt, oh I’m _wounded_.” He made vague fainting gestures, swaying back and forth, before Lily smacked him on the shoulder.

“As I was saying, we shall all meet back here in a few hours. If you need me, or any of the other professors, come and find us in the Three Broomsticks. Well then, enjoy.” She sent them off with a smile and sweeping motion. The students went out in throngs, gasping and gaping at the scene before them. Snow, still falling, had already covered the streets and buildings. 

“So,” Lily started. “Where do you want to go?” The boys looked at each other, each shrugging in turn. “No ideas then?” She looked to them again, only met by four heads shaking in unison. 

“Wait, hold on,” Sirius began to pat his robes, becoming slightly frantic as time went on. “Ah shit.” His face crumpled slightly. “I left my diary in the common room.” Blank expressions stared back at him. Realizing that they had no idea what he meant, he started to explain. “I had been writing Christmas ideas down in it.” Pink flared across his cheeks, but he suspected that no one could tell the difference between his embarrassment and the cold.

“Do you remember any of them?” Remus was the first to speak. 

“A few, yeah. Actually, James, good thing you’re here. I need to find something for your parents.” 

“Oh, okay, yeah.” James moved closer to Sirius. “So, I’ll take him real quick and meet you in Honeydukes in about twenty?” Lily checked her pocket watch. 

“Sounds good,” she leaned up to give him a quick kiss. 

“Oh, ew, let’s go.” Peter grabbed Remus’ arm, dragging him away, neither of them listening to Lily’s cries to wait for her. Sirius laughed and shook his head, watching the red head chase the others down the snowy path. 

“You know,” James said as they started to walk, “you don’t need to get my parents anything.” James leveled him a look that Sirius brushed off. 

“Yeah, I know.” He stared at the ground in front of him as they walked. “But, I’d like to. Show them I really appreciate them taking me in and everything.” James stopped in his tracks, trying but failing to cover his laughter. 

“You don’t think they know that?” He let out a huge laugh. “Padfoot,” he rubbed Sirius’ shoulder. “You’re no trouble at all, but I need to get them something too. Joint gift?” Sirius looked up at him, grinning. 

“Sounds good.” The pair set off, heading into Dervish & Banges before making their way into Dominic Maestro’s, and Tomes and Scrolls. Carrying a few heavy bags, they eventually met the others at Honeydukes. 

Loaded down with new purchases from Honeydukes and Zonko’s, they trudged towards the Three Broomsticks, determined to warm up with a few butterbeers. “So,” James said, palming his mug of butterbeer, “as you know, this is our last year at Hogwarts.” He held his hand up, indicating a moment of silence. “And this may possibly be our last Christmas all together. Taking that, and the lunar cycle into consideration, I propose that we all stay here during the holidays.” James looked around the table to find everyone nodding their heads in agreement. “Its settled then, write your families to let them know, and we can tell Mcgonagall later.”

Back in the castle, James and Sirius set off to the dormitory to wrap their presents for the Potters. Peter followed quickly after, carrying his oversized bags. Lily returned to the girls dormitory to store her purchases, leaving Remus to stroll through the common room. He had, of course, charmed his bags to follow Peter up the stairs. Flopping down on the couch, he spotted Sirius’ diary. Glancing around to make sure no one was there, he began to thumb through it. The book was littered with class notes, a few random spells and potion recipes, and the occasional prank. Remus eventually flipped to the page where “Christmas Gifts” was sprawled out in Sirius’ handwriting at the top. Down the page there was a list of names, some of them with ideas next to them. 

Giving the room one last look, he traced his finger down the page until he found his own name. Next to it was a few ideas that had been thoroughly scratched out, followed by an increasingly messy amount of question marks. His heart sank a little; though unsure of what he expected it made him feel a little uneasy. Thunderous footsteps on the stairs caused him to throw the diary in surprise, squeaking out a “found it, Sirius,” as he made his way down the stairs.

“Didn’t go through it, did you?” Sirius gave him a look, cocking an eyebrow. Remus could have sworn that Sirius’ cheeks had gone pink, much like his own.

“No, not at all. Of course not.” Sirius was still staring at him, giving him a slow nod before responding. 

“Good.” He stuck his wand out, muttered a low “accio”, sticking out a hand as the book shot towards him. The room was full of tension until James made it down the stairs, shouting loudly about dinner and grabbing the arms of Sirius and Remus, dragging them after him.

A few days later, James received a letter from his parents at breakfast:

_James and Sirius,_

_Just wanted to let you know that we got your presents. You didn’t have to get us anything dears. We stuck them under the tree, but the one was shaking so violently every time we walked by it that we decided it best to open it. Tell Sirius that we love the enchanted tea towels, although they keep trying sneak into your rooms to clean. Unsure of what is in there, don’t want to know. Your gifts will be coming soon._

_Happy Christmas!_

_Mum and Dad_

“Sirius,” James stuck his nose above his letter, staring down at Sirius as he ate his porridge. “When did you get mum and dad enchanted tea towels?” 

 

The clock in the common room struck midnight as Sirius was carrying an armful of stuff up to his bed. He dropped it, rather unceremoniously, onto the sheets and waited until the others had looked up to start talking. “I need some help.”

Remus pulled his head out of his book, cocking an eyebrow at him. “With what? Do I want to know?”

A thin smile creeped its way across Sirius’ face. “Reggie’s gift.” 

“Oh no, oh no no no no.” Remus flopped back down, tugging his bedsheets over his head. “I will have no part in this,” he mumbled from under the covers. 

“What are we looking at here?” James had snuck up behind Sirius, and was on his toes peeking over Sirius’ shoulder. 

“I was thinking something along the lines of boils.” Sirius had sat down and was leafing through a book of impractical joke spells. “Red and green, of course. Has to be festive.” 

“I know just the thing!” James’ face light up. “Wormtail, you awake?”

“I wasn’t, thanks.” Peter sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “What?”

“Where’s your book on gross skin afflictions?” James was already rummaging through Peter’s trunk, tossing robes and socks all over the room.

“Hey, knock it off,” Peter leaned down and thwacked James on the ear. “Its not in there, its under the bed.”

James’ face paled, and he backed away slowly. “I’m not going under there, Wormtail. You can go get it.” Peter rolled his eyes and sighed, exasperatedly. 

“Its not so bad.” He peered under the bed curtain, rooting around in god knows what before pulling out a small, fat book and wiping it on his sheets. “Here,” he said, presenting it to James.

“Right, thanks, you can go back to bed now.” Peter nodded, yawning, and threw himself back under the sheets.

“Remus, wanna lend a hand?” Sirius was unfolding a scrap of parchment as James worked his way through the book.

“I am asleep. I cannot hear what you’re doing,” came Remus’ muffled reply.

“You’re no fun,” Sirius pouted, pulling his wand out of his nightstand as James found the page. A few minutes later, the letter was sealed. James had tossed Sirius his invisibility cloak, who quickly threw it on and made his way up to the owlery, attaching the letter to the family owl, narrowly dodging a few pecks in the process.

The Great Hall had been fully decorated, twelve beautiful trees lined the outskirts as candles and fake snow hovered in the air. Sirius could hardly control his excitement through breakfast, and he nearly dropped his toast into his pumpkin juice as the owls came fluttering in. He leaned around Lily, who made a face, and watched as the owl dropped the letter right in front of Regulus. He examined it quickly, before deeming it safe to open, and shrieked as a powder came shooting out onto his face, red and green boils and welts appearing on his skin. The entire Hall had come to a standstill to watch as Regulus’ boils began to twinkle, changing from red and green to gold and silver and back again. 

Regulus had pushed himself up from the table, followed quickly by Narcissa and Lucius, as the boils started to sing Deck the Halls in a round. Narcissa and Lucius had quickly ushered Regulus out of the Hall, presumably towards the hospital wing. The entire Hall had devolved into laughter, and James was nearly falling out of his seat as Sirius, laughing hard as well, offered him a hand to pull him upright. 

Later that night, when everyone in the common room was full of students playing exploding snap and wizard chess, Sirius snuck off to the dormitory. He carefully sorted through James’ trunk before pulling out the invisibility cloak, and tucking it under his robes. Offering a quick “just going for a stroll” on his way out, Sirius ducked out of the portrait hole and down the stairs. He quickly pulled the cloak over himself, making his way down to the dungeons. 

He waited next to the entrance to the common room for a Slytherin to come down, and quickly went in behind her as the door swung open. Sirius moved quietly through their common room, trying to remember which rooms belonged to which years. Eventually he found the one belonging to Regulus’ year, and quietly entered. Carefully, he rooted around in his pocket for a small wrapped parcel, and made his way towards Reggie’s sleeping form. Sirius smiled weakly as he looked down, his skin clear of all shimmering and caroling boils. Holding his breath, he placed the parcel under his pillow and retreated to the common room, waiting for another Slytherin to enter before making his exit. 

Remus gave Sirius a curious look as he reentered the Gryffindor common room, just managing to tuck the cloak out of sight. “Everything okay?” He asked.

“Good, good.” Sirius grinned as he made his way toward the stairs. “Gonna head to bed,” he said, yawning for emphasis. “See you in the morning.”

Regulus awoke the next morning, rolling over to find a lump in his pillow. He hit it once, twice before deciding that the lump wasn’t in the pillow, it was _under_ it. Sticking his hand under, he pulled out a poorly wrapped parcel, slightly uneven in shape and with no tags. He unwrapped it slowly, cautious of another jinx. To his surprise, however, nothing exploded. A lump of toffee and hazelnut fudge, Regulus’ favourite, fell out, in addition to a few licorice wands and a pumpkin pasty. As he dropped the paper, something caught his eye. He reached down and pulled out a tiny pewter broomstick, that had undoubtedly been transfigured from something else. The broomstick was adorned in Slytherin colours, and as Regulus held it towards his face, it took flight and zoomed around his head once before settling down on his nightstand. Smiling, Regulus decided that it was going to be a good day and set off to get dressed. 

 

“Peter?” Sirius leaned out of his bed to look across the room, staring at the unmoving lump. James had already left for quidditch practice, and Remus was out on Prefect patrol. “Peter?” Sirius tried again, louder this time. A loud snore was the only response. “Oi! Wormtail!” Sirius threw a balled up sock at the boy, hitting him square in the nose. 

“The hell?” Peter was startled awake, blinking quickly and trying to get his bearings. “Sirius?”

“Oh good, you’re awake.” Sirius bolted across the room, throwing himself onto Peter’s bed. “What did you get James and Lily for Christmas?” Peter took one look at Sirius before laying back down.

“Why? Did you forget to get them something?” Peter had pulled the sheets up, almost over his face.

“Absolutely not. In fact, the last part of their gift came in the post yesterday.” Sirius tugged the sheets back down. “I just want to compare notes.”

Peter tried, without success, to pull his sheets back up. “Fine,” he said, relinquishing control of his bedclothes to Sirius. “I got James a book on joke jinxes that I found over the summer and some stuff from Honeydukes. Oh and a few dungbombs.” He sat up, rustling through a drawer, and pulled out the book to show Sirius. 

“Oh excellent Wormtail!” He was running his finger down the table of contents, marveling at everything the book had to offer. “And Lily?” Peter smiled, and leapt out of bed, opening his trunk.

The door to the room opened, and they both froze, Sirius clutching the book to his chest and Peter sticking his butt up in the air, hiding in his trunk. “Um,” said Remus, unsure of what he had just walked in on. 

“Oh thank god, its only Remus.” Sirius let the book fall and Peter resumed his search. 

“Do I want to know?” Remus came in and collapsed on his bed, shooting a look at Sirius.

“Comparing our gifts for James and Lily.” Peter called out, bringing up a small bag with a bow on it. “It’s a new quill, the one that she wouldn’t stop talking about all of September. I had my mum get it and send it up.”

“Wow, that’s, actually thoughtful,” Remus mused.

“Thanks!” Peter had shoved both of the gifts into his trunk, stuffing them under a sweater. “What did you get them, Remus?” 

“You know, the usual. An assortment of sweets for both of them. New broom polish for James and a music box that plays a different song every hour that the sun’s up for Lily.” He moved over to Sirius’ bed, falling face-first onto it before Sirius could manage to sit back down. “Sirius? What did you get them?” 

“Oh, you’ll see.” Sirius grinned at them and Remus shook his head, burrowing further into Sirius’ rumpled sheets.

Impatient as ever, Sirius could barely contain himself the day before Christmas Eve, though a knot in his stomach was continuing to grow. Restless, he threw himself about the common room, tormenting the few students who stayed over break by tossing exploding origami at them. “Oh for the love of-!Sirius, what is the matter with you?” Lily was making her way over to him, her face bearing an exasperated expression. 

“Well, if you must know, I’m excited to give you your gifts. You, James, and Peter that is.” He tried to toss another crane, but Lily grabbed his arm.

“Not Remus?” Her face was unreadable as she clawed the paper out of Sirius’ hand.

“Well, er,” he rubbed the back of his head. “I actually haven’t gotten him anything yet.” Lily dropped the crane, which exploded at their feet. 

“Sirius Black!” She shouted, giving him a wild look. “Its two days before Christmas and you haven’t gotten him anything?” The room had gone quiet, and Lily looked around before dropping her voice. “I cannot believe you! He’s one of your best friends! He’s-” She cut herself off, shaking her head. 

“What?” Sirius pleaded, bending down to eye level with her. “Its not like I haven’t been trying. I just, he means a lot to me. I didn’t want to just get him something, you know?” 

Behind the pair, Remus had just started to descend the stairs into the common room.

“Well, you’ve almost run out of time and you’ve got nothing for him.” Her brisk tone caused Remus to pause, still out of view. “What’s your plan?”

“I don’t know!” Sirius’ face contorted. “I can’t give Remus nothing for Christmas!” 

“Oh,” Remus said before stopping himself. They both turned around to see him standing on the stairs. “Sorry, I, ah, I’ll be going then.” Remus gave them both a weak smile before heading out, off to god knows where.

“Look what you’ve done now.” Lily said, staring him down. 

“Me? This is your fault!” Sirius shouted back at her. The few remaining students had fled back to their own rooms, leaving Sirius and Lily the only two in the common room. 

“I’m home!” James shouted as he entered through the portrait hole. “Funny thing, I’ve just seen Remus headed off somewhere in quite a rush. Any idea what he’s on about?” Peter shook his head and Lily turned to say something, but Sirius cut her off.

“Its my fault, I said something stupid. He’ll be back.” Sirius took a seat next to Peter.

Lily rolled her eyes. “He still hasn’t gotten a gift for Remus, and Remus overheard.” James shot a look at Sirius. 

“Really? Of all people you haven’t gotten a gift for Moony?” Sirius made to speak, opening his mouth, but Lily cut in.

“And I can’t believe it!” She turned to James. “What is he going to do? We’re supposed to exchange gifts tomorrow night!” 

“I can’t do that, obviously!” Sirius said, eyes wide with panic. “I haven’t got anything!” 

“Clearly,” Lily said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “So? Solutions?”

“What if we split the gift giving?” James said. “Like if we did a few tomorrow, and the rest on Christmas?”

“That, that could work.” Sirius replied. “We could do you, Lily and Peter tomorrow. That would leave Remus and I for Christmas morning.” He turned around to face Lily. “What do you think?”

“I think you’re an arse, Sirius Black.” She pinched her face in thought. “But I think it could work. You’re lucky.” Lily pinned a look on Sirius, who shrugged it off uncomfortably. 

It was snowing again on Christmas Eve as Sirius sat on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He was racking his brain for something, _anything_ , that he could feasibly give Remus for Christmas. The only problem was that (other than the fact that it was Christmas Eve) it was Remus, and Sirius couldn’t just give Remus any old thing. It had to be perfect. His deep concentration was broken when James threw open the door. 

“Lily’s looking for you downstairs, she wants to talk about your you-know-what for you-know-who.” Sirius shot James a wanton look.

“Just send her up, I don’t have the energy to go down to her.” James rolled his eyes and shouted down the stairs for her.

“Have you come up with something?” Lily wasn’t even in the room yet as she started asking.

“No,” Sirius said miserably, pulling a pillow over his face. “If I die do I have to get him something?” He pulled the pillow down a little harder, in an attempt to suffocate himself. Lily stomped over and ripped it off his face, staring down at him.

“Why is this so hard for you?” She asked, a look of complete and total confusion on her face. 

“It just is!” Sirius said, sitting up.

“But why? Its not like you’re lazy, you’ve got everyone else’s gifts. Hell, you’ve probably had them for months!” Sirius’ face conceded that much. “So, why have you not gotten anything for Remus?”

“Because it has to be _perfect_ ,” Sirius said, as if it was obvious.

“And I assume you looked?” Lily had sat down at the foot of James’ bed.

“Lily, love, you have no idea. I’ve been in and out of every shop in Wizarding London and Hogsmeade at least six times. I just, I can’t find it!”

“You were in every shop at least six times and you still couldn’t find anything for him? Not one little thing?” Her tone was incredulous.

“Sure, I could have gotten him _something_ but I told you, it has to be perfect!” Sirius’ voice was near panic.

“But why?” James asked, as a look of understanding dawned on Lily’s face. 

“Are you going to make me say it?” Sirius’ face contorted, a scarlet blush spreading like wildfire.

“I don’t-” James started, but Lily leaned in to whisper in his ear. Sirius watched as James’ eyes widened. “YOU FANCY REMUS? MOONY? OUR MOONY? YOU FANCY-” James could barely control his laughter as Sirius reached out and punched him in the face, coupled with a slap from Lily.

“Don’t laugh,” Lily said, staring James down.

“I mean, its just,” James was waving his hands about, unsure of his words. “It was so obvious and I didn’t see!” Sirius fell back onto his bed, covering his face with his pillow and groaning.

“Just put me out of my misery,” he said meekly before James could pull the pillow away. 

“You know that doesn’t change my opinion of you, yeah?” He said, leaning down towards Sirius. “I mean, Wormtail’s a bit odd, Moony is a werewolf, and you fancy Moony. Changes nothing, Padfoot.” Sirius offered a smile, sitting back up.

“Who fancies who now?” Peter said, a cheeky grin on his face.

“No one, Peter,” James said. 

“We’ll figure this out,” Lily called on her way out of the room, “I’ll think of something!” 

“What was that about?” Peter asked, now sitting on the foot of his bed. 

“You really don’t want to know,” James responded. 

The rest of the day passed with Sirius trying to avoid just about everyone, and come up with a gift for Remus. He wandered aimlessly around the castle, bumping into a few ghosts and suits of armor along the way. He eventually made his way back to the common room, where the others were waiting for him. “Shit, sorry. Didn’t realize what time it was.” Sirius dashed up the stairs, returning quickly with an armful of presents. 

“So, as you know we’ve decided to split giving gifts, to make the fun last longer.” Lily said with a smile. 

“And tonight is, drumroll please, me! And of course Lily and Peter.” James produced just one gift, dropping it on the table. “You,” he looked at Lily, “are getting yours later.”

“I might actually be sick,” Remus said, dropping his gifts onto the table. 

“If you’re sick then we’ll all be sick,” Sirius smirked, adding his gifts to the pile. Peter was the last to add his, and there was a brief moment of calm before they descended upon the gifts.

“Oh Peter! Thank you!” Lily yelled as she opened the bag.

“Remus, excellent!” James was holding the broom polish up, examining the label.

“Oh, Wormy, here,” Sirius grabbed his gift off of the table and tossed it at him. 

“Can I open it?” He asked, face eager. 

“Of course, dear Wormtail.” Sirius watched as he tore the paper open, letting out an odd noise of delight as he pulled the book out.

“ _Becoming Your Inner Animal: A Guide for New Animagi_ ,” Peter read, immediately opening the book. “Thanks Sirius!” 

Sirius grinned. “I think you’ll like it, it seemed quite useful. And for you, Prongs,” Sirius tossed him an envelope, and James looked down at it before opening. Carefully, he tore the envelope and dumped the contents into his hand.

“Wow, Padfoot!” He yelled, holding something up into the air. “Are you for real?” 

“What? What is it?” Lily was laughing, trying to see. 

“Two tickets for the Wigtown Wanderes versus the Bellycastle Bats!” James was parading the tickets around the common room, cheering.

“And for you, Lily.” He proffered the parcel, small and dainty.

“This isn’t going to explode, is it?” She eyed it carefully.

“No, its not going to explode,” Sirius replied flatly. Lily nodded and opened the gift, her eyes widening as she pulled it out.

“Sirius!” She exclaimed. “Its beautiful!” She held the necklace up to the light, examining the pendant that lay in the center of the fine chain. It was a small stag that every so often would change positions. “Thank you,” she said, tossing her arms around Sirius’ neck. “Now if only you could be this thoughtful when it came to Remus,” she whispered in his ear. He coughed and hugged her back quickly, hoping she would be distracted by his next gift.

“But wait, one more for the happy couple.” Sirius pulled out a small wrapped gift, offering it to James to unwrap. He tore the paper open, his face blanching before turning a bright red. 

“Sirius, I, uh,” he stammered before Lily could swipe the book from his hands.

“ _The Witch and Wizard’s Guide to the Kama Sutra_?” Lily read the title aloud before comprehending the words, and when she did she tossed the book at Sirius. “Why did I think you could be thoughtful!” Her face was redder than James, and embarrassed beyond reason, she decided to head to her room.

“Happy Christmas!” Sirius shouted to her, and she merely flipped him off before turning around to mouth at him:

“Figure out your gift for Remus.” Sirius’ face fell, but a small smile crossed it when he saw James scramble to retrieve the book from where Lily had tossed it.

 

 

“James” Sirius rolled over in his bed for the third time.

“Sirius,” James replied, not bothering to put his reading down.

“James,” Sirius’ voice turned slightly whiny.

“Padfoot.” James finally set down his book.

“James,” Sirius drew out the middle syllable for emphasis, dropping his head off the side of his bed. “Its” he looked at the clock on the wall, “half one on Christmas Day and I don’t have a gift for Remus.” Sirius sounded dejected.

“Keep groaning like that, I’m sure it’ll end well for you when Moony gets woken up by your blathering.” Sirius quickly rolled over to check Remus’ still sleeping form. “Lily is downstairs trying to figure something out,” James said, picking his book up again. “I suggest you go help her instead of sitting here moaning. Sirius shot him a look, or tried to, instead falling out of the bed.

“Ow, alright,” he said, rubbing his head where it had struck the floor. “Just, if Moony does wake up, keep him up here? Please?” 

“Sure thing Sirius,” James replied.

Sirius made his way down the stairs in an interesting manner, somewhere between a shuffle and a sprint, and almost tripped over a pile of books on the floor. “Lily?”

The redhead popped up from the center of the pile. “Oh Sirius, good! I’ve been thinking, what about something handmade?” She used her wand to levitate a few books in front of Sirius. 

“That would be good, if I had the time.” He cast another forlorn look at the clock.

“Right, right,” Lily said, diving back into the pile. “That would be correct, okay, so,” she continued to rummage through the books. “Anything by owl post is out, so are the stores, and not enough time to hand-make anything,” she muttered to herself, tossing a few books into another pile. “Can’t buy, make or order anything, can’t steal it from the school,” she bit her lip as she looked up at Sirius. “I-I’m sorry. I’m out of ideas.” She sank back down, Sirius pulling up a bit of carpet near her.

“Its okay,” he sighed. “I probably should have asked you for help earlier.” He looked downtrodden, staring at the floor where he was picking at the seams of the carpet. “I’ve still got a bit of chocolate left from what I gave him after the last moon, I suppose that’ll do. I’ll just explain the situation.” Lily offered him a sympathetic smile. “Oh my god, can you imagine that? ‘Yes, right, Moony, so sorry I didn’t get you anything for the holiday. Truth is, you see, I fancy you and I spent the last few months searching for the perfect gift like a complete imbecile and I-’”

“That’s it!” Lily cut him off, springing to her feet.

“I’m sorry, what?” Sirius stared at her, standing when she offered him a hand. 

“You!” Her eyes were wide with excitement. 

“Pardon?”

“You can give him you! I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner!” Lily was charming the books into a neat stack on the table as she spoke.

“I’m still just a bit lost, care to help a gent out?” Sirius grabbed another few, adding them to the pile.

“Of course you are, you git!” She smacked him lightly. “You can’t tell anyone, especially Remus.” She stopped what she was doing to stare at him quite intimidatingly for a girl of her size. “Swear?”

“Okay, yeah, I swear,” Sirius was giving her an odd, and slightly frightened look.

“So, a while back, Remus told me something.” She looked at Sirius, who nodded eagerly for her to continue. “And you _can’t_ tell him, alright?” Sirius nodded again, looking exasperated. “Well, you see, truth is, Remus fancies you, too.” She spoke in a hurry, not making eye contact with Sirius until she finished.

“WHAT?” Sirius shouted. “How long ago did he tell you this?” 

Lily looked back down at her feet. “Sometime last year.” Sirius opened his mouth, but she continued. “He made me swear not to tell you!” She moved to the couch, sitting down. “That’s why I was so angry that you hadn’t gotten him anything.

“Oh, well, that makes a touch more sense now.” He sat down next to her. “I am, however, still a bit lost on this whole ‘give him me’ thing.” Lily dropped her head onto the back of the couch.

“God you are so thick sometimes. _You_. We, I don’t know, put a bow on your head or something and tomorrow morning you can stand under the tree and say like ‘Remus Lupin, I love you’ or something.” 

“That is so poetic, I could cry,” Sirius smirked. Lily smacked him, a fond look on her face. 

“Well you can figure out the wording, but what do you think?” She looked at him anxiously, awaiting a response.

“I think,” he paused for dramatic effect, “that you, Lily Evans, have saved Christmas.” He stood up and planted a kiss on the top of her head. “I can see why James is so fond of you.” He smiled down at her for a second before dashing off towards the stairs. “Do you think they’ll let me into the kitchen for hot cocoa tomorrow morning?” 

Lily rolled her eyes. “No, but they’ll let me. I’ll meet you down here at say, seven?” 

“You truly are a godsend Evans.” And with that he shot up the stairs.

Although sleep seemed almost impossible to find, Sirius eventually managed to nod off for a few hours. He awoke a short while later to light tapping on the dormitory door, and quietly maneuvered out of bed. “Happy Christmas!” Lily said, passing him a mug of cocoa.

“You too,” he smiled around the mug and took a sip. “Oh my god, this is so good.” 

“Don’t worry,” Lily said, “I’ve got a mug charmed downstairs to stay warm until Remus wakes up.” 

“None for me?” James asked, now skirting out of the doorframe. Lily rolled her eyes.

“Of course, downstairs. Now go, quickly, before you wake the entire tower.” The boys were seated on the couch, the fire roaring in front of the tree, with stacks of gifts stacked beneath it. James smiled at Lily as he took out his wand and produced a large bow that rippled red, green, silver and gold, and had a large amount of glitter falling off it it.

“Oh dear god.” Sirius said as he placed it on his head reluctantly. “Is that it?” He looked between the two of them.

“So is that a no on the mistletoe then?” Lily was holding a sprig of it, twirling it in her fingers. 

“I’m going to say no on that front,” Sirius gave her a weak smile. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry,” she smiled and stuck it over the fireplace, dragging James beneath it and kissing him. Sirius rolled his eyes, but a noise from upstairs made them all pause. “Out, out,” she pushed James towards the portrait hole, quickly jinxing the stack of books to follow them. “We’ll return these to the library, and give you guys some space.” She smiled and was out of the room.

“Peter knows to pretend to be asleep until he hears us, so,” James gave an odd sort of wave and followed Lily.

The portrait had swung shut and Sirius scrambled to stand next to the tree, grabbing the mug of hot chocolate. Eventually, as he heard the footsteps start down the stairs, he decided to sit, his back against the wall of the fireplace. “Sirius?” Came Remus’ voice as he saw him sitting under the tree. “Where is everyone? What are you doing on the floor?” He squinted as he worked his way over to the sitting boy. “And the bow?” He nodded towards it as it gave off another cloud of glitter.

“Asleep, or out,” Sirius shrugged, careful to continue balancing the bow precariously on his head. “Come, sit my dear Moony,” he patted the space next to him, extending the cup of cocoa with the other hand.

“Thanks,” Remus took a sip. “Dear Lord, that is so good. Did you make it?” He cocked an eyebrow.

“Admittedly, no. Lily snuck down to the kitchens this morning for me.” They sat for a moment, both sipping, before Remus spoke.

“So, what’s with the bow?” Remus asked, gesturing to the monstrosity on Sirius’ head. 

“Well, you see, Remus,” Sirius started, feeling the blush bloom on his cheeks. “You overheard the other day, that I didn’t have a gift for you.” 

“Sirius, you don’t have to-” Remus’ face was full of apology, but Sirius waved his hand, cutting him off.

“Please, let me finish. Of course I do, because you’re my Moony.” Remus was smiling now, and, Sirius noted, blushing. “But that’s not the matter at hand here. You see, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to get you a gift. The problem was, I wanted to get you the _perfect_ gift, and I had been so determined that I, well, forgot to actually buy one.” Remus laughed, leaning in a little closer to Sirius. “So Lily helped me a little with this. But, my dear Moony, I have decided to give myself to you. If you’ll have me, of course.” He smiled at Remus.

“You’ve decided to give yourself to me,” Remus repeated slowly, not fully comprehending. 

“I thought you were supposed to be the smart one,” Sirius laughed. He glanced up at the mistletoe, mentally thanking Lily as Remus looked up as well. Startled, Remus looked back down at Sirius just as he pulled Remus in to brush their lips together. Remus returned the kiss, placing his mug on the hearth as he wrapped his arms around Sirius’ neck. The two kissed for a moment, Remus gently guiding Sirius’ mug down to the ground as well, before pulling apart.

“Oh,” Remus said, as the bow fell off of Sirius’ head. “So that’s what you meant.” Sirius grinned and nodded, lacing his fingers through Remus’. Remus leaned in, placing his head on Sirius’ shoulder, and they sat there for a moment. 

“Wait! Bloody Hell, did Lily tell you that I fancied you?” He sat bolt upright, staring indignantly at Sirius.

“Shh, happy Christmas Remus,” Sirius said, pulling him into another deep kiss.


End file.
